How to Use Lockscreen in iOS 10 on iPhone/iPad

The release of iOS 10 brought along some changes for all of us Apple device users to get used to. One area of the operating system that has had some changes is the lock screen. You can now interact with some features straight from notifications, use a “Raise to Wake” feature, and some of the accessibility on the lock screen has changed. While we know that eventually you would have it all figured out, we thought we would just point out what all of those differences are, and give you tips on how to use them. This way, you’ll have them all figured out much faster.

Wake up iOS device.

iOS 10 gives you three different ways to wake your lock screen. You can still push your sleep/wake button. You can also still just push the Home button. However, iOS 10 has a feature known as “Raise to Wake.” When you enable this, from settings, you simply pick up your phone and the lock screen is then wakened. Keep in mind, iPhone SE, and later, are the only devices capable of this feature.

Once your device is wakened, you will be prompted for your passcode or Touch ID, if you have this security feature enabled. Proceed with whichever method is necessary.

Interaction through your notifications.

When your notifications pop on the lock screen, you can perform interactions like replying to messages straight from the notification itself. For devices with 3D Touch, just click and hold the message. The application that sent you the notification will then prompt you with a reply dialog box. Type in your response and send. Then tap anywhere on the screen to close out of this.

If you don’t have 3D Touch, you can still interact through your notifications. You can just swipe left, choose the option you want, and then reply if you chose to, or go about your business if you chose not to.

Access: Camera or Siri.

For easy access to your camera, just swipe left. It used to be swipe up, but not with iOS 10. Not a big change, but still one you should know about.

To reach Siri from the lock screen with iOS 10, press and hold the Home button. Then you may ask whatever it is you need information about. Siri has seen some good changes with the release of iOS 10, so it would be worth your time to check out some online guides about using Siri, as well.

Access: Control center.

It’s very easy to access your control screen with iOS 10. Touch the very bottom of the screen and swipe up to pull the control center onto the lock screen. There are three different category screens in your iOS 10 control center. The first screen is for your settings and tools. The next screen is for your media controls. Finally, your last screen is for your Homekit.

Access: ApplePay and Wallet.

This is a feature you really want to be easy to get to. It is, with iOS 10. You’ll just need to double-click your Home button. ApplePay will come up. Then, swipe through to the card you want to use for your purchase, and select it. If you want to, you can also choose a Wallet pass by tapping the bottom of the screen.

Access: Today View widgets, and how to manage them.

So, to recap, swipe left to get camera, swipe up to get control center. Now, to access your Today View widgets, swipe right. You can also customize your widgets from the lock screen.

After swiping right to access the widgets, scroll down. You’ll find an Edit button. Tap on that. A list of widgets will come up, and you can add any by tapping on the plus sign at the left of the screen. To remove any, you just tap the minus sign to the left of the screen. If you want to rearrange your widgets, then tap and hold the lines at the right of the screen to be able to move them up or down in the list. When you’re finished doing any of your widget management, make sure you tap Done, in the top right corner of the screen to save your changes.

Access: Suggested apps.

You will see apps that are being suggested for you, based on how you already use your device. They will appear at the bottom of your lock screen. If you want to access one of them, just tap the one you want, and that’s it.

Conclusion

We know you could figure most of this stuff out yourself, but we thought you might like to have all the changes to the lock screen in iOS 10 compiled in one place, for efficiency’s sake. You have enough going on in your life, so we like to do what we can to make things a little more convenient whenever possible. One thing’s for sure, iOS 10 brought about some really good changes to the lock screen. Apple, too, seemed to want to make your life a little more convenient, with changing the lock screen functionality being only a piece of what they changed for this version.

We hope you found this article helpful, and that reading it was a good use of your time. Please contact us with any questions or comments. We always love hearing from our readers.